Boeing delivered its first military aircraft, two trainers, in 1917; some 101 years later, in 2018, Boeing won the competition to build USAF's newest jet trainer, the T-7A. Few companies can match its extensive history.
Just five U.S. aircraft remain to be certified with the KC-46 tanker for operational missions designated by U.S. Transportation Command, Air Mobility Command said. The new tanker is certified for some 97 percent of mission taskings now, but it's unclear when the next capability release ...
Development of the KC-46 Pegasus tanker might have fared better if it had been a cost-plus, rather than a fixed-price program, and Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said, "I'll take the hit" for that approach. Though progress has been slower, the KC-46 is now ready ...
Boeing lost more than a billion dollars on two Air Force programs in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, getting "whacked" by inflation, the pandemic, and supply chain issues, CEO David L. Calhoun said. He admitted that Boeing lowballed its bids for the fixed-price development ...
In a new audit, the Government Accountability Office warns the Air Force to take its time vetting the KC-46's new vision system, saying that if flaws aren't found early, it could cost the service dearly later. The Air Force responded that it's doing due diligence ...
Boeing's losses on the KC-46 tanker now add up to over $5.4 billion, as the company took an additional charge on the program of $406 million in the last quarter of 2021. The company chalked up the loss to continued resolution of the Remote Viewing ...
After six straight quarterly losses, Boeing reported profits of $755 million in the second quarter of 2021, a year after posting a $3.32 billion loss. Company officials reported no new loss on the KC-46 tanker, on which the company has lost $5 billion so far. ...
The Air Force and Boeing are addressing two additional Category 1 deficiencies in the KC-46 in addition to the four remaining Category 1 problems involving the aircraft’s refueling system. The previously unannounced issues are with the aircraft's receptacle drain line tubes and Flight Management System, ...
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center on June 16 issue a call to determine which companies could provide a “bridge tanker” to cover the gap in tanker capacity between the end of KC-46 production and development of a future refueler. The Sources Sought Announcement ...
A feature in the KC-46’s advanced refueling system, designed to improve safety and ease the burden on boom operators, is not working as designed, so the Air Force implemented a workaround. The problem is with the aircraft’s Aerial Refueling Software, which has preset limits for ...
The Air Force didn’t effectively oversee the development of the KC-46’s refueling boom, leading to additional delays and costs and a lingering deficiency that prevents the tanker from refueling some USAF aircraft, according to a new Pentagon watchdog report. The Defense Department Inspector General, in ...
Air Force Magazine on May 25 flew aboard a KC-46 during a refueling flight as part of Air Mobility Command’s major exercise Mobility Guardian 2021 in Michigan, the first time an independent media outlet has flown on the new tanker. The KC-46 from McConnell Air ...